Category Archives: Reflections

Still Marvelling?

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
More people used to say, “That’s marvellous!” Maybe you still do! Does that date us–that we remember saying that? Either way, it’s a good thing to say; some things actually are marvellous! I am purposely choosing a “Christmas” verse at this time of year as a kind of spiritual health check for us. Luke 2:16 reveals, “Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marvelled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” Christian education is part of this “marvelling at those things which were told them.” One reason secular education that ignores or rejects God’s place and role is such an affront to God! For thirty nine years, by the grace and goodness of God, ACCS has been helping young people marvel at God’s handiwork–seeing Him in His creation, in His salvation, in His plan for the world! We are truly blessed! May the result be an increasing crescendo of young people forever transformed and transforming by the power of the Holy Spirit, surrendered to Him!

Tangibly speaking, I want to connect this idea to something we will pick up in the coming weeks in our Weekly News: our K-8 handwriting program, and how it is making a huge difference that will last for life! Handwriting is a good skill to develop, of course, but it is also part of developing one of the good gifts God has given us as another way of reflecting back praise to Him. Reducing skill development to “what I need for my future career” is what I call a “utilitarian view” of education, and it is the default position in secular schools, and increasingly the mindset of Christians. An art museum curator does not just put up art pieces to “cover the walls”; she puts them up to magnify the artist, or better yet, the Artist! We develop skills in our children in holy wonder of and excitement about His awesome creation, for His glory!

A topic of interest educationally is Why Every Classroom Should Teach Digital Citizenship. It begs the question: what is digital citizenship? Well, first citizenship, which is formally defined as “the quality of an individual’s response to membership in a community.” This makes citizenship far more complex than a simple legal matter, but rather one that consists of self-knowledge, interaction, and intimate knowledge of a place, its people, its place in God’s salvation plan, and its cultural history.
So digital citizenship is nearly the same thing–“the quality of a response to membership in a digital community” would be a good first crack at the definition. Revising that might more clearly articulate the differences between physical and digital communities, so a decent definition of digital citizenship then might be “Self-monitored participation that reflects conscious interdependence with all (visible and less visible) community members, surrendered to God;” But that leaves out the idea of content itself, which leads us to a pretty good definition for educators: “The quality of habits, actions, and consumption patterns that impact the ecology of digital content, communities and one’s relationship with God.”
Still too wordy? Maybe a shorter version for students–with some moral imperatives and implied advice–could be: “the self-monitored habits that sustain and improve the digital communities you enjoy or depend on, and which tend to God’s glory.”

Are you up for a challenge? A prisoner is in jail. There are two doors, one leads to freedom one leads to death. There is a guard at each door. One guard always tells the truth, the other always tells lies. The prisoner is allowed one question to either of the guards. 
What is the question that will take him to freedom? (solution below) … And, did you know? The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.

Coram Deo,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. Have you left your testimonial on the ACCS website? Here is one: 
A first generation student says … I joined ACCS the first year it opened as one of four grade 8 students. Although we were 3 grades in the same classroom our education was second to none. My children also attended and graduated as second generation. If I had the opportunity, my grandchildren would also attend. I thoroughly recommend this school. I like the familial aspect of it as well as the fact that staff are 100% approachable and accessible. Thank you for all you do!
Go to www.allistonccs.com/testimonials/ to leave yours!

Solution: If I were to ask the other guard which door leads to freedom, what would he say?  Whichever door the guard points to, you go out the other door!

Reflections

His Grace

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
If you have been on the school property recently, you will have noticed two large trees planted and thriving in the Kindergarten fenced in area. Thank you to the donor and the installers who brought us the instant shade! We appreciate it so much, especially after the previous trees (donated many years earlier) had to be taken down due to an invasive pest. Also a new storage shed has appeared in the side yard to replace the deteriorated one! Thank you so much to all involved in these projects!

As we consider this year’s theme (Think Biblically, Act Differently – Romans 12:2), let’s look at how His Grace applies to that theme. 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” This is an important angle to consider, because our theme by itself accentuates what we are to do more than that we also need God’s grace to even begin to live changed lives! Maybe you  have been running on your own steam (and running out!) Maybe you have been trying to live a transformed life, but found that you are not doing such a good job of it. What we see in this verse is a great encouragement to find abounding grace, all sufficiency and an abundance for every good work! When that is our compelling force, we find that there is strength enough to persevere. Where it says “God is able,” I see that we must not take this as a given, but we must continually seek and pursue God for His grace.

In the weekly news a few weeks ago, I challenged all of us to think about how we all can spread the word about ACCS: Is there more we could be doing to spread the word? The truth is that our classrooms are close to being full; with much more growth, we will be considering splitting classes, more teachers, etc. Exciting times!

As part of my effort to keep us abreast of educational issues, consider these 14 Brilliant Bloom’s Taxonomy Posters For Teachers. Bloom’s taxonomy has always been a staple in teacher education, probably before there was such a thing as home computers-1956 in fact! Curiosity is a powerful catalyst for learning. Young children want to understand the world around them, and naturally reveal their interests by asking questions – sometimes even too many questions! As educators, we may feel pressure to keep going with our intended lesson plan or to get to our ‘point.’ This may lead us, as parents and teachers, to push ahead instead of listening to a child’s question, or to answer it briefly and move on. The goal of education should be to nurture and grow minds that are ready to solve problems and think critically, and asking questions is a necessary skill in that process. For this reason, we want to prioritize question asking and place it at the forefront of our mission for our classrooms and our students. Bloom’s Taxonomy helps us do that.

Do you realize that one of the special things about ACCS is how everyone works together, even during these crazy times? There is a list of maintenance tasks. Send us an email or call if you think you can help–even if it would be now and then.

Let’s see if you can solve this one: Imagine you are in a room, no doors windows or anything, how do you get out? (solution below) …And, did you know? For a long time, people believed that the earth was flat. They believed that the seasons were the result of gods’ and goddesses’ emotions. Diseases were considered to be created by evil spirits. Christian scientists who argued that the Bible says it is round, were laughed at. Sometimes, what most people believe is not actually the truth! Actually, evolutionists have long believed that evolution leaves behind vestigial organs. Unsurprisingly, they labelled many organs ‘vestigial’, and this hindered scientific research. Do vestigial organs really exist? If so, do they support evolution—or devolution? Here’s a short 17-minute video on the truth about ‘vestigial organs’.

Eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. Our school is a member of the Christian School Foundation. That means that we have access to expertise and experience that we could hardly afford on our own. If people want to give a gift of securities, we can handle that through our Foundation. If people want to give a gift now (and get a receipt this year), but want to extend the life of that gift over five, ten, or twenty-five years (or more!), we can handle that through our Foundation. If you’d like to learn more, contact our school office or office@christianschoolfoundation.ca and we will explain the many different options you might consider!

Solution: Stop imagining!

Reflections

Growth Mindset and Humility

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
This is already Week 27––can you believe it? So much to do in only 14 weeks! For this month’s instalment, let’s let Scripture speak to us about Humility as we read in Philippians 2:3, 4: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” As we reflect on the culmination of Jesus’ ministry in His death and resurrection, we see more than just a good example to us. Let’s not, however, overlook His example to us in this area. Can I truly say that I do NOTHING through selfish ambition? Or pride? Why was Paul even concerned about that? As long as we do good things, isn’t that the main point? No. The Christian message goes right to the heart; it asks, “WHY do you do the ‘good’ things?” It even goes so far as to say that the ‘good things’ are not really good things at all if they do not proceed from a heart of love and devotion to God.

As part of my effort to keep us abreast of educational issues, consider this the 25 Simple Ways To Develop A Growth Mindset. In a nutshell, A “growth mindset,” as Dweck calls it, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a tendency to believe that you can grow. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she explains that while a “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, a growth mindset thrives on challenge and sees failure “not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.”
The consequences of believing that intelligence and personality can be developed rather than being immutably engrained traits, Dweck found in her two decades of research with both children and adults, are remarkable. She writes: “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character, well then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics.”
The fixed mindset can negatively impact all aspects of your life, Dweck says, but positively, “not only are people with a growth mindset not discouraged by failure, but they don’t actually see themselves as failing in those situations–they see themselves as learning.”

Are you up for a challenge? A ship is sailing in the Atlantic ocean … it sinks and every single person dies…. Four people who had been on the ship are later rescued–alive. How is that possible? (solution below) …And, did you know? God’s precision may be observed in the hatching of eggs. For example: the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; those of the canary in 14 days; those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days; those of the mallard in 35 days; eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days. They are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!

Serving together for God’s honour,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. Our school is a member of the Christian School Foundation. There are over seventy Christian schools who are members, which means that if you want to give a gift to support two, three, or five Christian schools, you can do so by giving one gift to the Foundation and having them distribute it on your behalf. If you would like to have a simple way to bless several Christian schools, contact our school office or office@christianschoolfoundation.ca and we will help make this happen!

Solution: They are married, not singles!




Reflections

Holy Walk

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
“Education is not to reform students or amuse them or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects, teach them to think straight, if possible.” – Robert M. Hutchins (1899 – 1977, an American educational philosopher). While this is not a Christian quote per se, we see here a clear connection to our week’s theme verse in Isaiah 32:17 – “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” A connection and a contrast. What we do as Christian educators is indeed far beyond merely reforming or amusing, but we believe the biblical foundation of our teaching leads to righteous living, quietness and assurance. I find that astounding! The gift we have in our Christian school system is so potent and of such magnitude that it can offer benefits far beyond what a secular education ever could! 

Our Mission puts it this way: We strive to inspire and partner with Christian parents and churches to educate each generation for a life in Christ. Let’s be even more determined to see that “work of righteousness” supported and nurtured at home and school! What is that, you ask? Definitely not self-righteousness! It’s a realization that we humans are flawed, lost and desperately in need of Jesus in our lives. It is that realization that makes us base our lives on the Word of God and depend on His righteousness to make us righteous.
 
Our weekly chapels are an important part of what we do at ACCS. I can say that for many, myself included, they have been a blessing! In a way it is humorous that the CRA does not consider activities such as Chapel and Bible classes to be part of the education we provide, but rather as “religious education.” I say that because as a parent who has raised eight children, and who has been part of the Christian education scene for 25+ years, these components are the glue that tie the whole edifice together! Our goal in our chapels is to build on what you are doing as parents, namely to pour Godly and Biblical principles into your children’s lives. That is the foundation that is going to establish them, by God’s blessing, on a good course. When you think of it, please pray for our chapel times. Pray that the Mission Emphasis presentations this month would be used to impact their lives. Pray that a fire for the gospel and for God’s work in this world would be ignited in all of us. Pray that the work of righteousness would be active among us!

Have you been following trends in education? Maybe you’ve heard of this one. 25 Simple Ways To Develop A Growth Mindset. In a nutshell, A “growth mindset,” as Dweck calls it, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a tendency to believe that you can grow. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she explains that while a “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, a growth mindset thrives on challenge and sees failure “not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.”
The consequences of believing that intelligence and personality can be developed rather than being immutably engrained traits, Dweck found in her two decades of research with both children and adults, are remarkable. She writes:
“Believing that your qualities are carved in stone creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character, well then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics.”
The fixed mindset can negatively impact all aspects of your life, Dweck says, but positively, “not only are people with a growth mindset not discouraged by failure, but they don’t actually see themselves as failing in those situations–they see themselves as learning.”

Are you up for a challenge? The king of Persia has a visitor who will be his new minister of defence. When he comes the king greets him and asks politely, “Would you like a tour of the city?” The visitor says, “Ok.” As the two of them are walking the king points at a beggar with a donkey and says, “That man there is the richest man in the city apart from me.” The visitor asks, “How?” The king replies, “Well, he seems to be smuggling something, but we don’t know when he does it.” So the minister comes up with an idea of having guards search him whenever he goes in or out of the city but this plan does not work. What does the man smuggle? (solution below) …And, less trivially, did you know? God’s wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant… The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

Partnering with you for a Christ-centred education,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. Have you left your testimonial on the ACCS website? Here is one: 
Amazing for our kids! When it was time for my first child to go to school, I was nervous about sending him off to kindergarten. We met personally with the Principal and she answered all my questions from curriculum to music, language and theology. After observing the kindergarten class I was impressed with the respectful and peaceful atmosphere and I was convinced that my first born would be at home here at ACCS. I am happy to say that all of my children now attend ACCS and are growing physically, intellectually and spiritually everyday.
Go to www.allistonccs.com/testimonials/ to leave yours!

Solution: Donkeys.

Reflections

Stay Committed

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
“Stay committed to your decisions; but stay flexible in your approach.” –Tony Robbins. Take a moment to reflect on that quote, especially in connection with the focus verse of the week and the theme of good works (Galatians 6:9,10): And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. The two thoughts tie together quite well, I must say. Do you ever set out on a good course and then lose heart and abandon it? Do you every think that no one notices the good anyway, and grow weary? It happens easily. An additional thought arises: be on the lookout for others in the community who are losing heart and growing weary, and encourage them about the harvest. That would qualify as a good work in itself!

Keep those thoughts in mind now as we connect them to our small class sizes and the blessing it is to be able to focus on the individual needs of each child. True, it is harder in our present circumstances, but even so, I am so appreciative of the energy that goes into making sure that no student at ACCS “falls off the wagon.” We are blessed!

As part of my effort to keep us abreast of educational issues, consider this. Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read? According to all the research, what you should see in every school is a heavy emphasis on explicit phonics instruction in the early grades. There is no evidence this turns kids off to reading or makes reading harder. In fact, it’s the opposite. If you do a good job teaching phonics in the early grades, kids get off to a quicker start. “And they accelerate their progress faster and read more and like it better and so it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle,” Moats said. “Whereas the converse is [also] true. When you don’t give kids insight into the code and don’t arm them with insight into language, both spoken and written, what happens is, ‘This is a mystery. I’m not sure I’m getting what these words really say. Therefore, I’m uncomfortable. And therefore, I don’t really like it.'”

On the lighter side, can you solve this little brain teaser? Three men walk into a hotel and rent a room for 30 pounds. But the hotel manager realized the room should have been only 25 pounds. So he sent the dishonest bellboy and told him to give 5 pounds back to the men. The bellboy cheated and said to the three men the room was actually 27 pounds and gave them 3 pounds back and donated the other to his favourite charity. Where is the missing pound because 25 + 4 =29? (solution below) …And, did you know? A photon would take 40,000 years to travel from the core of the sun to the surface of the sun. But it takes just eight minutes to travel from there to the earth.

Partnering with you for a Christ-centred education,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. Have you considered the importance of protecting those in your family from online threats lately. Yours may be a family where your eldest child is just now starting to surf the net or have his/her own mobile device. How will you protect you and your family from stumbling upon temptations? There are several options to consider. Covenant Eyes is a program that uses the strength of relationships for mutual accountability. My favourite is called Open DNS: it is free, simple and effective. Every internet request you make goes to a DNS interpreter to convert the words of the site name to an ip address. Open DNS sends your request to their server which simply refuses the connection if it is not family safe according to your settings. It is fully customizable and protects everyone who comes into your home and uses your wifi. There’s no need to configure every device. Many pop-up ads get blocked before they even try to pop up! Using a search service like DuckDuckGo (I don’t like the name either, but it works great!) is a great idea too! They do not collect and sell your data like Google does. I have enjoyed using the Brave browser to add another level of safety and freedom. These are simple changes that cost you nothing and can save you and your loved ones much pain and grief.

Solution: There is no missing pound! There are 25 pounds in the till, 2 pounds in the messenger’s pocket, 3 pounds = 1 in each of the men’s pockets and they have paid 9 pounds each (= 27 pounds) and there is one pound in their pockets (3 pounds in total) This makes 30 pounds in total. The messenger’s 2 pounds should be added to the manager’s 25 pounds or subtracted from the men’s 27 pounds, not added to their 27 pounds.

Reflections

Blog 5-6: Online Learning Week 3

> > Ready for another week of online learning? This week we will be focussing on Asian countries and competing in break out rooms to answer questions about this huge (30% of total land mass) continent. We will be reading through Romans and looking at key verses that speak about sin and salvation (bible workbooks are coming!) Students are working independently on creating a Poetry book on google docs with six original poems and two poems from admired poets. We will also be working on completing our book report books this week and typing it next week. It’s great to share activities and pictures from home during our morning devotional time so please encourage your child to share. > > Sent from my iPhone

Reflections

On Being Steadfast

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
This is already Week 12––only 28 to go! For this month’s instalment, let’s let Scripture speak to us about being steadfast (Hebrews 12:3).
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Consider Him. You mean, consider all that happened to him? Consider Him. Consider Who He was? Who He is? Consider Him. Or does it mean, His mission to seek and to save that which was lost–the “Mission Seemingly Impossible”? Or how His haters and detractors continually tried to trip Him up but never succeeded? Consider Him. How in the end, it was not the end: how He truly died, but truly rose from the dead again as He said? Consider Him. His John 17 “High Priestly Prayer”? His Matthew 5-7 “Sermon on the Mount”? Consider Him. His humble birth? His family tree from Adam all the way to His earthly father? Consider Him. That He was sent. That He set aside His glory. That He, as the Creator of all, suffered and died at the hands of His own subjects. Consider Him. That He said, Greater love has no man than this, than that he lay down his life for his friends. Consider Him. That He even invites us–all who labour and are weary–to come to Him and find rest for our souls! Consider Him. It is the secret to being steadfast.

Let’s tie these ideas to what we will examine later this month, namely the truth that Kindergarten is so much more than playing. While the basic educational benefits of Kindergarten are tangible, the advances children achieve towards becoming well-rounded individuals are truly invaluable. They learn through playing. “The benefits of play-based learning are many. Through play, children learn to delay gratification (always a hot issue for parents of young children), take turns, negotiate with peers, solve problems, cope with disappointment, listen to others, and empathize. And the benefits don’t stop there. Have you ever watched a group of young children engaged in high-level play? Imaginative play in kindergarten requires planning, higher level thinking, cognitive skills, math skills, and language skills. Ask a group of 5- and 6-year-olds to open a new restaurant and see what happens. If given sufficient time for sustained imaginative play, that group of kids will use anything they can find to set up the restaurant, advertise, and create some form of currency for their customers. If that’s not considered learning, I’m not sure what is. If play-based learning is the best way to reach our young children, why the push for early academics? “Adults consider play frivolous — a waste of time,” explains Carlsson-Paige. “Adults don’t understand that play is the cornerstone of learning. Play builds the foundation for conceptual learning.” (from Momtastic)

Have you been following other trends in education? Maybe you’ve heard of this one: Why Millions Of Kids Can’t Read And What Better Teaching Can Do About It. Sometimes advice to a beginning reader is based on an influential theory about reading that basically says people use things like context and visual clues to read words. The theory assumes learning to read is a natural process and that with enough exposure to text, kids will figure out how words work.Yet scientists from around the world have done thousands of studies on how people learn to read and have concluded that theory is wrong. One big takeaway from all that research is that reading is not natural; we are not wired to read from birth. People become skilled readers by learning that written text is a code for speech sounds. The primary task for a beginning reader is to crack the code. Even skilled readers rely on their decoding skills.

Ask your clever young kids this: If a man (or a woman) is trapped in a room. There are no doors no windows how did he get out? (solution below) …And, did you know? While it is the shortest verse in English, it is not the shortest in the original language; the shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35, which states, “Jesus wept.”


Partnering with you for a Christ-centred education,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. There is no doubt that all of us have needs that differ from the needs of others. To pretend we are all identical – or at least close enough so we can all roughly fit into the same mold – is to kid ourselves. But there are also some needs that are true for us all. I’m thinking of the need for food and water and shelter in the cold Canadian winter. But I’m also thinking of the need to feel like we have a place here in God’s world; that we aren’t just an accident, but that we belong. There are many people who have committed suicide even though they had ample food, water and shelter. Sadly, they have felt like others would be better off without them – that they just didn’t belong. At Alliston Christian School, there are lots of people with lots of special needs. But that one need – that one very common and important need – to feel like we belong, is a need we see in every student. That’s why our school is a Community of Belonging school.

Solution: ¡ʎɐʍ ɹoop ɐ ʇnq sɹoop ou ǝɹǝʍ ǝɹǝɥʇ ‘ʎɐʍ ɹoop ǝɥʇ ɥƃnoɹɥ┴

Reflections

Separate from the World

It was a pleasure to “see” most of you at the Parent Meeting on Tuesday! We are blessed to be in this work together! I am so appreciative of the self-sacrificing work that you as parents do every day for the long term wellbeing of your children! God will bless you in that and provide!
Last week, we considered some implications of Putting Christ First based on Matthew 6:33 where Jesus says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” This week, one of His disciples challenges us to be separate from the world. He says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15,16) On first glance, this is not an easy concept to accept. Does he mean that we are to live off in separate enclaves, or live as hermits? Some have taken that view as we know, but, taken with other instructions, we take it to mean that we have to guard ourselves from being diluted or even totally washed away in a worldly mindset. We tend to think we can be “balanced” and love the worldly perspective at the same time as be devoted to Jesus. What I have seen when I or others do that is that we become ineffective in both camps–like salt that has lost its saltiness. John was experienced enough at that point in his life to know that, like playing on the sides of the mighty Niagara River, failing to remain separate from the world can put our family’s safety and well-being at risk.
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Having your children at home can develop your patience, but do you think that having your children in Christian day school develops their patience? Children need opportunities to be involved in an abundance of social experiences, where they can explore and practice the social skill of patience. Sometimes we do not have to seek to provide such opportunities; they happen by themselves! In a rich classroom setting, teachers can deliberately help the children to recognize and grow from situations that require patience. It is important that the need to learn patience is kept in balance, or frustration can build. Children are equipped for the real world when they can recognize those situations and learn how to handle their emotions and behaviour in them. That is another benefit of having your children in a Christian school.
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Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTC): Term 1 conferences are mandatory for all parents. This time, PTCs will be by Zoom. You are asked to make your bookings at http://www.allistonccs.com/ptc/ as soon as you can. Report cards will be distributed electronically the day before, and hard copies will follow shortly after. You will receive an email reminder with your Zoom link(s) the day before the conferences.
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Each year The Herald invites local schools to submit artwork or short stories/poems to be used in our annual Christmas Greeting section running in December. All artwork is due by the first Friday in December.

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Consider this … There is no doubt that all of us have needs that differ from the needs of others. To pretend we are all identical – or at least close enough so we can all roughly fit into the same mold – is to kid ourselves. But there are also some needs that are true for us all. I’m thinking of the need for food and water and shelter in the cold Canadian winter. But I’m also thinking of the need to feel like we have a place here in God’s world; that we aren’t just an accident, but that we belong. There are many people who have committed suicide even though they had ample food, water and shelter. Sadly, they have felt like others would be better off without them – that they just didn’t belong. At Alliston Christian School, there are lots of people with lots of special needs. But that one need – that one very common and important need – to feel like we belong, is a need we see in every student. That’s why our school is a Community of Belonging school.
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Something to discuss at the dinner table: The Bible takes place across three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe With about forty (40) authors over a span of 1,500 years; how can it be so consistent in its message? On the trivial side, Canada is an interesting place: Did you know… Each Canadian eats an average of 190 eggs per year. Canadians drink more fruit juice per capita than any other country.
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How would you respond to this observation? Deuteronomy 32:2  “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.”
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Prayer Corner: Please pray for the salvation of Muslims. Consider adding this country to your family or personal prayers this week:  Cuba.
Heavenly Father,  Today I pray for the more than 100,000 legal orphans in foster care who wait for adoptive families. Connect them with “forever families.” Send Your angels to watch over them and keep them safe. Ignite a desire in families to make a difference for these children. Please protect all hurting children across this land. We also want to uphold any struggling families among us; You know them. Thank You for the way our students don’t just go for the minimum, but try to do their very best for You! In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Reflections

Reliance on God’s Resources

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
For this month’s instalment, let’s let Scripture speak to us about what RELIANCE ON GOD’S RESOURCES, especially His Spirit looks like. The verse is 1 Corinthians 2:12: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” What stands out as I read that is “freely given.” Usually things given for free are suspect. There’s the saying, “There’s no free lunch.” Other free things can leave us with gaping mouths; we are amazed that such a gift would be given–no strings attached! That may be a Christmas gift, or a generous donation in a time of need, or the intangible gift of love. In this case, we are being assured that believers have been given something more amazing than a tangible gift. The gift is “the Spirit Who is from God.” This is talking about a Person, not a small “s” spirit, like an attitude. May I make the analogy to the fuel in a rocket? The Spirit Who is from God is such an important part of a believer’s strength! It is the fuel, the power, the Person behind an effective fruitful Christian life! Without It, we are just noise-makers!

Later this month, in our Weekly News, we will consider the value of Christian day school in fostering lifelong learning: Lessons are given in a fun and exciting way that encourages children to be effective learners. A thirst for learning takes root in Kindergarten at ACCS and is nurtured all the way through to Grade 8. That is a great validation of your investment into Christian Education for your children!

Have you been following trends in education? Maybe you’ve heard of this one: Gamification & Game-Based Learning. The definition of gamification is the application of game-like mechanics to non-game entities to encourage a specific behaviour. Gamification is not game-based learning, nor does it require students to play games, with toys, use electronics. It also doesn’t necessarily require you to create elaborate systems of experience points, unlocks, and badges (though you could). When does it make sense to use? 1) To encourage a specific response or behaviour. 2) To increase the visibility and perceived importance of otherwise “minor” and less visible actions. 3) To promote competition; to engage students. 4) To help students track their own progress. Gamification is first and foremost about encouragement mechanics and the system that promotes them, while game-based learning is first and foremost about the game and its cognitive residue (whether from the game’s content, or academic content). They both can lead to content mastery, but neither are expressly designed for classroom use—which is why, done well, your students will probably like them.

Ask your clever young kids this: Can you get a sum of 99 by using all numbers (0-9) and only one mathematical symbol? (solution below) … And, did you know? Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” are the most replicated paintings of all time?

Your fellow-labourer in education,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this in our Weekly News and we thought we should pass it on to you here too. Christian Schools are Places of Belonging. Christian schools are asking of themselves, “Who is not here, that should be here?” In particular, there is a thirst for including students with a whole range of socio-economic backgrounds and special needs into the communities that our schools embody. This isn’t just about having students with special needs in the building, but still separated from the rest of the student body and the social life of the schools. This is about learning and living together. It is about growing and knowing together. The Christian School Foundation is supporting this by first funding research and information gathering, and then providing financial resources so that our schools can put what they learn into practice. If you share the vision of never seeing a family turned away because of a fear of their special needs; if you share a vision that sees every student with a daily opportunity to learn with and from their friends who may have differences, we’d love to hear from you.

Solution: 9+8+7+65+4+3+2+1+0

Reflections

Relying on His Strength

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
As we consider this year’s theme (Think, Act, Be Like Jesus), let’s look at how it applies to the principle of relying on His Strength. Psalm 18:2 declares, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” The temptation for us as performance-oriented humans, even as Christians, is to look at the TABLJ theme and try to muster up more strength and more resolve to measure up to this standard. I don’t deny that effort is involved, but where do we find the energy to exert ourselves? It is right here in this verse–in the LORD! Find rest in that!
Keep those thoughts in mind now as we connect them to our dedicated Learning Support team that ensures that every student has the needed support! I have been amazed at the strong efforts that our team, especially Mrs. Vanska, have put forth to ensure that every student has been supported! I am also so thankful for the many hours Miss Eade and Mrs. Cochrane have put into the completely different “out of the box” solutions for the grade 8 and SK graduations! I am so thankful for the perseverance, creativity and patience God has given our staff to carry out the extraordinary assignment this term!

Congratulations to all of our students for successfully completing another year of education! We are so thankful for your perseverance and positive attitudes from beginning right to the end! Special congratulations are due to our graduating Grade 8 class–to Haley W, Zara A and Tamara S. This is a major milestone for you! Well done! May you be blessed as you take a well-deserved break and then head into high school! I would also like to congratulate our senior kindergarten graduates: Jude Z, Ava G, Abigail K, Lucy N, Anna P, Joshua V, and Lily V! We are excited for you! 

In the broader picture, it’s good to know what’s ‘in’ in education. Did you know, for example, How To Teach Empathy? Consider this: without empathy, you’re teaching content instead of students. The concept of teachers as primarily responsible with content distribution is a dated one, but even seeking to ‘engage’ students misses the calling of teaching. To teach a child is to miss the child. You must understand them for who they are where they are, not for what you hope to prepare them for. “Giving knowledge” and “engaging students” in pursuit of pre-selected knowledge both are natural processes of formal education–and both make empathy hard to come by. For some strange reason, this idea, while it seems good in itself, according to the linked article, is connected with blurring traditional boundaries of binary gender, truth and faith. Teaching empathy, however, is what Christians should be best at.

Have you noticed that one of the special things about ACCS is how everyone works together? Would you consider reading to a class for story hour once a week to help out in September (assuming things return to normal by then)? It’s a great way to make a difference! Contact us.

Are you up for a challenge (submitted by one of our students)? A prisoner is in jail. There are two doors, one leads to freedom one leads to death. There is a guard at each door. One guard always tells the truth, the other always tells lies. The prisoner is allowed one question to either of the guards. 

What is the question that will take him to freedom? (solution below) …And, did you know? John Wycliffe produced the first translation of the entire Bible from Latin Vulgate into English. However, after he died, the Catholic Church exhumed and burned his corpse as punishment for his translation work. Alternative narratives to current events is nothing new.

With you, eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. I thought you would be encouraged to hear this from a recent visitor …

My son’s comment was that he felt like everyone in the class wanted to be his friend, which is not what is happening at his school presently. I was overjoyed at his response to the visit. You have a wonderful school there. 
While in my office, he was pleading with his mom, “Mom, please let me goto this school! Please!” 🙂
Go to www.allistonccs.com/testimonials/ to leave your testimonial and pass the word about ACCS!

Solution: If I were to ask the other guard which door leads to freedom, what would he say?  Whichever door the guard points to, you go out the other door!

Reflections